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A comment on Support for Third U.S. Political Party Up to 63%. Parent comment

Re:Support for Third U.S. Political Party Up to 63% by sandworm101 on Thursday October 12, 2023 @09:58AM (#37857227)
Or just forget the "third party" concept and jump straight to having fourth and fifth parties. The math of the three doesn't mix with US politics. The third party will always be accused of splitting either the left or right majority, giving victory to the minority. But with fourth and fifth parties in the mix that is less of a problem. So many parties would also force politicians into cross-party coalitions, but that is probably a bridge to far for US political culture.
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Re:Support for Third U.S. Political Party Up to 63% by ceejayoz on Thursday October 12, 2023 @10:00AM (#37857266)
If a Ross Perot-style challenger appears on one side of the political spectrum, the other side's prospective fourth party has very good reason to sit down and shut up that election.
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Re:Support for Third U.S. Political Party Up to 63% by sandworm101 on Thursday October 12, 2023 @10:03AM (#37857304)
Well, that wouldn't be a true multi-party system. That would be two parties (left and right) each putting forward multiple candidates until false presences. A proper party wouldn't back down like that because they would not be so influenced by the others.
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Re:Support for Third U.S. Political Party Up to 63% by lazide on Thursday October 12, 2023 @10:07AM (#37857372)
Welcome to the United States.
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Re:Support for Third U.S. Political Party Up to 63% by NoGravitas on Thursday October 12, 2023 @01:48PM (#37860431)
Hell, we don't even have a true two party system.

"The United States is also a one-party state but, with typical American extravagance, they have two of them." - Julius Nyerere

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Re:Support for Third U.S. Political Party Up to 63% by GartzenDeHaes on Thursday October 12, 2023 @10:17AM (#37857508)
- John Anderson torpedoed Carter

- Ralph Nader and Al Gore

- Ross Perot got Bush I

- Third party candidates received around 6 million votes in 2016

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Re:Support for Third U.S. Political Party Up to 63% by ceejayoz on Thursday October 12, 2023 @10:38AM (#37857801)
Each of these are examples of what I'm saying; in a particular election, one side gets a significant third-party candidate, and the other side does not, because it's not in their interest to kick themselves in the 'nads.
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Re:Support for Third U.S. Political Party Up to 63% by mistercheph on Thursday October 12, 2023 @10:17AM (#37857510)
Having dozens of balkanized parties, each so insignificant as to be powerless, is a recipe for total corporate takeover of a democracy. I am utterly dissatisfied with both American political parties, and I am inclined to have more parties rather than fewer, but if those parties are not strong enough to sustain political identities we will have a one party system
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Re:Support for Third U.S. Political Party Up to 63% by wing-_-nuts on Thursday October 12, 2023 @10:43AM (#37857878)
>a recipe for total corporate takeover of a democracy.

Do you have an example to back this up? Europe is largely multiparty and yet seems to have much more 'corporate unfriendly' consumer protections than we do today.

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Re:Support for Third U.S. Political Party Up to 63% by XorNot on Thursday October 12, 2023 @10:03AM (#37857306)
No it's more of a problem. Because the winning party now has an even smaller share of the vote, and may represent no one's preferences.

First past the post voting allows only two parties: because the winner is whichever party has less competitors for it's ideological niche. It explicitly destroys any concept of a market place of ideas being possible in politics.

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